IN-VITRO ASSESSMENT OF THE EFFECT OF CURCUMIN ON PROTHROMBIN TIME AND ACTIVATED PARTIAL THROMBOPLASTIN TIME IN NORMAL PLASMA

Curcumin is the main polyphenolic constituent of Curcuma longa and has been credited with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticoagulant properties in a range of experimental settings. Even so, its influence on the routine clotting screens used in clinical laboratories has not been fully characterized. The research conducted to determine whether increasing concentrations of curcumin alter Prothrombin Time (PT) and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time (APTT) when added directly to normal human plasma. Fifty apparently healthy volunteers donated citrated blood, from which platelet-poor plasma (PPP) was separated. PT and APTT were recorded on each plasma sample first without additive and then again after spiking with curcumin at 1%, 2%, and 4%, using a semi-automated coagulation analyzer. Mean PT rose from a baseline of 14.01 ± 1.184 seconds to 14.27 ± 1.331, 14.62 ± 1.425, and 15.30 ± 1.564 seconds at the three respective concentrations. Mean APTT followed the same upward trend, moving from 32.69 ± 1.801 seconds at baseline to 33.03 ± 1.844, 33.51 ± 1.894, and 34.42 ± 1.970 seconds. Pearson correlation coefficients between concentration and clotting time ranged from 0.930 to 0.973 (P < 0.001) across all comparisons. It is concluded that Curcumin lengthened both PT and APTT in a dose-related fashion, pointing to an inhibitory action on both the extrinsic and intrinsic arms of the coagulation cascade.